Yves Frigault and Doris Blaney of Temperancevale spent close to 400 hours over the fall and winter months restoring the stained glass window above the altar at St. Luke’s.

Years of exposure to the New Brunswick climate had deteriorated the lead that held the thousands of pieces of glass together. Before it crumbled entirely, it was removed and taken to Mr. Frigault’s basement workshop where he designed and traced an exact pattern of the window on paper. Then the window was taken apart and each piece was soaked in a solution of water, soda and vinegar. Ms. Blaney, a long time member of the parish, cleaned each one with a toothbrush and razor blade, then Mr. Frigault rebuilt the window. With lead cane, putty, solder and infinate patience, he expertly and lovingly restored the window to its original beauty.

During the course of the restoration, he wondered about the Rev. Henry William Tippett, the parish’s first missionary and the person to whom the window is dedicated. Mr. Frigault contacted the Archives for information.

Conversations with Mr. Frigault and Ms. Blaney; “Notes on the History of the Church of England in the Parish of Queensbury” by R.P. Gorham; and information on the Tippet headstone in Forest Hill Cemetery revealed the following:

Henry William Tippet was one of several British-born clergy who served this diocese in its early days. Born on June 12, 1814 to Captain and Mrs. William Tippet in Cornwall, England, he was ordained deacon by Bishop Medley on Dec. 21, 1845 and raised to the priesthood on Feb. 28, 1847. In January of 1848 he began his work as Missionary of Queensbury, the parish to which he devoted the rest of his life.

When Tippet went to Queensbury, there was neither church nor parsonage, but in 1868, looking back on his first twenty years in the parish, he noted that he had travelled 30,000 miles, preached 3,000 times, baptized 139 people, and built three churches (St. Thomas, Queensbury, 1849; Holy Trinity, Queensbury, 1853 and St. George’s, Caverhill, 1859) and a parsonage (1849). His efforts did not end there. Mr. Tippet began to hold services in Temperance Vale in 1871 and laid a foundation for a church. It was moved to a new site and completed and consecrated on July 10, 1889.

Six of the 139 baptized by Mr. Tippet were his own children: Mary Vivian (1848), Arthur Patterson (1850), William Herbert (1851), Cornelia Sophia (1853), Joseph Hartley (1854) and Frederick Harvey (1860). On Feb. 5, 1874, Mr. Tippet died while on a visit to his native country and was buried at St. Saviours, Manchester, beside his mother.

His wife Cornelia, who was born to Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Grindon in Bristol, England, on Nov. 17, 1819, died in Fredericton on Nov. 6, 1892. She is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Fredericton, and her stone contains information (aforementioned) about her husband. At least three of their children are also buried there.

The photo of the Rev. H.W. Tippet was donated to the Archives by the Robert W. Tippet family.